Charly and Margaux are in a band. They also share a shoe size, caramel skin flecked with tattoos, an affinity for colorful hair, and the ability to bring goosebumps to the back of your neck with the stroke of a violin. They’re not sisters, but people ask. When they order Sangria, I do too, as if the drink might suddenly make me capable of banging out "Canon in D" while sporting bum-length PURPLE BRAIDS.
Charly and Margaux––together, Chargaux––are such a perfect pairing that at times it seems impossible they met anywhere but a music executive’s boardroom. In fact, it was on the street. “I saw this girl with a crazy blonde afro on the corner [of Boston’s Copley Square] playing violin,” says Margaux, who plays viola. Charly recalls differently. "It was a mohawk!" Hair disputes aside, both remember what happened the next day when they played together at the same spot. “People were taking pictures of us and asking if we were a group,” Margaux said.
Three years, dozens of subway performances, and a move to Brooklyn later, Chargaux is gearing up for the release of its second EP, Broke & Baroque, whose track “I’m So Pretty” premieres today on the OC blog. Last Thursday, the duo performed at our Resort 2015 presentation, looking as stylish as any of the models. (Full disclosure: at the high school Margaux and I both attended, she was one of the few who avoided such sartorial stumbles as double-popped collars and boat shoes with socks.)
I sat down with the duo after the presentation to talk blue eyebrows, classical music, and how to avoid getting pigeonholed in a genre.
ALICE HINES: Tell me the story of how you guys met.
MARGAUX: It was serendipitous. [Charly] was on the corner playing violin and I stopped her and was like, “Oh, I play viola! Would you like to play together?”
CHARLY: Then she tried to text her mom, but she texted me accidentally.
Margaux: It’s so creepy. I was like, “Mom I just met this awesome girl, a violinist!” And I sent it to [Charly].
Charly: Then we found out we lived one train stop away from each other.
Margaux: It’s a crazy story. That was three years ago and here we are now.
Where are you going to be three years from now?
Margaux: I want to travel more. We’ve been to Jamaica and Japan and Europe together. I feel like that's what’s coming next. That, as well as fusing our music with the art world––because [Charly’s] a visual artist.
When you were growing up did you ever think you’d be playing violin and viola professionally?
Margaux: Yeah. I always knew.
Charly: We’re both business-minded. She has stories about [how] when she was 10 she started her own orchestra. I was making money playing places around Atlanta.
Margaux: We’ve both been hustling; we’ve been grinding our whole lives. I started this quintet when I was 13 [in Detroit]. One of the girls in our orchestra was a cellist and her mother was a jazz singer who would do tours. I was like, "Can
Charly and Margaux––together, Chargaux––are such a perfect pairing that at times it seems impossible they met anywhere but a music executive’s boardroom. In fact, it was on the street. “I saw this girl with a crazy blonde afro on the corner [of Boston’s Copley Square] playing violin,” says Margaux, who plays viola. Charly recalls differently. "It was a mohawk!" Hair disputes aside, both remember what happened the next day when they played together at the same spot. “People were taking pictures of us and asking if we were a group,” Margaux said.
Three years, dozens of subway performances, and a move to Brooklyn later, Chargaux is gearing up for the release of its second EP, Broke & Baroque, whose track “I’m So Pretty” premieres today on the OC blog. Last Thursday, the duo performed at our Resort 2015 presentation, looking as stylish as any of the models. (Full disclosure: at the high school Margaux and I both attended, she was one of the few who avoided such sartorial stumbles as double-popped collars and boat shoes with socks.)
I sat down with the duo after the presentation to talk blue eyebrows, classical music, and how to avoid getting pigeonholed in a genre.
ALICE HINES: Tell me the story of how you guys met.
MARGAUX: It was serendipitous. [Charly] was on the corner playing violin and I stopped her and was like, “Oh, I play viola! Would you like to play together?”
CHARLY: Then she tried to text her mom, but she texted me accidentally.
Margaux: It’s so creepy. I was like, “Mom I just met this awesome girl, a violinist!” And I sent it to [Charly].
Charly: Then we found out we lived one train stop away from each other.
Margaux: It’s a crazy story. That was three years ago and here we are now.
Where are you going to be three years from now?
Margaux: I want to travel more. We’ve been to Jamaica and Japan and Europe together. I feel like that's what’s coming next. That, as well as fusing our music with the art world––because [Charly’s] a visual artist.
When you were growing up did you ever think you’d be playing violin and viola professionally?
Margaux: Yeah. I always knew.
Charly: We’re both business-minded. She has stories about [how] when she was 10 she started her own orchestra. I was making money playing places around Atlanta.
Margaux: We’ve both been hustling; we’ve been grinding our whole lives. I started this quintet when I was 13 [in Detroit]. One of the girls in our orchestra was a cellist and her mother was a jazz singer who would do tours. I was like, "Can